Golden Fields

My return to Golden Fields was with a voucher I had received from my beloveds for Christmas AND it was for my birthday dinner celebrations; and so my friends, we went to town.

The décor is pretty hip(ster) in this place, very minimalistic with a massive mirror down the end which works to extend the room. There are lots of artistic chicken feet stuck to the wall as well; one patron hung their jacket there, whilst my Asian mother exclaimed “look! Lots of fuhng zhaap!” (Try saying that one at your next yumcha session).

We started the meal off with some Cape Hawk oysters ($4pc) and Moonlight Flat Kisses oysters with fresh wasabi ($6pc), both of which were clean, fresh and tasty. We were served complimentary spicy pumpkin seeds which we munched on whilst waiting for our next dish.

The Kingfish, avocado, fresh wasabi and konbu dish ($17) had beautiful flavours. The oil added a nice tang to the dish and wasabi cream complemented the sweet fish.

The tuna, white miso & eggplant with toasted sesame laver ($17) was not as stand out as the kingfish; the tuna was fresh and tasted so good, especially with the white miso cream, but as a whole the dish did not have enough flavour for me.

Wagyu brisket, hot & numbing sauce, peanuts and radish ($16) followed and was probably my least favourite dish in a stand-out dinner. There were some good flavours in the dish with the coriander, chilli oil and garlic chips, however the Wagyu on its own was a bit tasteless.

I don’t think anyone can ever really go wrong with a soft shell mud crab roll ($15). This one was really crispy mud crab, delightfully fried to perfection. The bun was yum. The price is steep, and I think hopping over to Hammer and Tong would be a better bet – bigger bun, same great soft shell crab taste.

The New England lobster roll, hot buttered bun, cold poached crayfish, watercress & kewpie mayonnaise ($15) was really nice with large chunks of fresh pulled lobster. The bun was great again (same just-sweet-enough semi-sweet soft bun as their soft shell mud crab roll) and the mayo really finished the dish off. Drooltown.

The slow-roast lamb shoulder, tomato & chilli, coriander & mint ($74) still haunts my dreams. Succulent. Tender. Falls of the bone. Need I say more? Yes? The sauce is delicious and I love it. Even Asian father who baulked at the price conceded that it was worth every penny.

The pan roasted John Dory, mussels, spinach, seaweed butter ($39) had a lot to live up to following the lamb; but on all counts it was well cooked to retain the sweetness of the fish and not make it too chewy and dry. All the ingredients complemented each other and I loved the spinach and mussels – I usually give away my mussels, so I think that attests to the win of this dish.

Marinated eggplant, silken tofu, coriander, chilli vinegar ($15) was the token ‘salad’ and way we justified quite a rich meal. I always love silken tofu and will quite often opt to taste the dish which features it (sometimes to my disappointment!). This did not disappoint. It is a tasty salad without getting into the traditional lettuce thing. The eggplant and chilli vinegar sauce went superbly together.

The Bloody Mary! This was very spicy to my liking, and quite an interesting flavour... as if lemonade? Or something to give it extra lift was added. I am adding it to my list of BESTS in Melbourne!

And then we got really, really full. And I had to walk away without my beloved desserts that I so wanted to try D: I must return before they close their doors.

TL;DR Hurry along before the close their doors for a new venture!